Feature request: output progress indicator in --print mode

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Mar 20, 2026 by mulka Closed May 11, 2026

Summary

When running claude --print (non-interactive mode), there is no visual feedback while the model is working. For long-running tasks with multiple tool calls, the terminal appears frozen until output is finally printed.

Proposed behavior

Output a small progress indicator (e.g. a period .) to stderr for each tool call made during execution. This gives users a sense that work is happening without polluting the actual stdout output.

Example:
\\\
$ claude --print "refactor this file"
...........
<final output here>
\
\\

Why this matters

  • --print mode is commonly used in scripts and pipelines where the process may run for tens of seconds or minutes
  • Without feedback, it's impossible to distinguish "still working" from "hung"
  • Writing progress to stderr keeps stdout clean for piping

Alternatives considered

  • A --progress flag to opt in to this behavior
  • A spinner instead of periods
  • A --quiet flag to suppress it if added by default

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